Obama and de Tocqueville

I believe the nation is not in peril per se, but the country is notably stagnant economically, educationally, and in a war that has been severely mismanaged. I believe a change, a new circulation, and fresh thinking is in order—and I believe Sen. Barack Obama is currently the most viable agent of change. It seems as though his often repeated platform banner of “CHANGE” seems to be exactly what most citizens are yearning for.

In pouring through and examining countless research for this paper, I noticed immediately that Obama has written and published many articles, books, and journals—in short the man is undoubtedly well-spoken, expressive, and passionate about his job. Although he is well-versed and a visionary in his own right, he likes to refer to past leaders for guidance—“Confronted by Hitler, Roosevelt said that our power would be ‘directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. We Americans are not destroyers; we are builders.’ It is time for a president who can build consensus here at home for an equally ambitious course.” (Obama) In this address to the Council of Foreign Affairs, Obama, instead of easily dishing out a litany of lambasting remarks concerning our current administration, he speaks more proactively of what he can do. In his arguments, much of the time, he tends to start with a general idea or value system, then he moves to the particular—“After Iraq, we may be tempted to turn inward. That would be a mistake. The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew. We must bring the war to a responsible end and then renew our leadership -- military, diplomatic, moral -- to confront new threats and capitalize on new opportunities. America cannot meet this century's challenges alone; the world cannot meet them without America.” (Obama) Here, Obama is starting with a general, but concrete belief of our foreign policy; that in order for our country to thrive, we cannot forsake other countries. He notes that renewal of attention to progress is necessary—that we must end the war “responsibly” to confront new threats to our nation and/or be aware of new opportunities. He then moves to particular national goals, which he feels he can and will accomplish—“Our rapidly growing international AIDS programs have demonstrated that increased foreign assistance can make a real difference. As part of this new funding, I will capitalize a $2 billion Global Education Fund that will bring the world together in eliminating the global education deficit, much as the 9/11 Commission proposed. We cannot hope to shape a world where opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child everywhere is taught to build and not to destroy.” Notice that Obama closes that argument by referring back to a general principle. This is one of the great (and unfortunately rare in politics) things about Obama. He speaks so eloquently, but instead of sounding like a drone that has been fed speeches to spit out, there is weight to his words; he knows he has a stake in what he speaks about, and he works hard to get the audience to feel like they have a stake as well.

It will indeed be interesting as to who Pennsylvania feels should attain the Democratic nomination on April 22nd. The key argument, in my opinion, concerning Obama that has surfaced and resurfaced since his campaign has hit our state, has involved his connection to his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Rev. Wright’s condemnation of America after the 9/11 tragedies—“God damn America…[America’s] chickens are coming home to roost”—has brought a skeptical and questioning eye on Obama’s sense of patriotism and religion. (Ross & El-Buri) As much as conservatives want this matter to condemn Obama because they feel McCain stands a better chance against Sen. Clinton, (I know this because my mother and I listen to Rush Limbaugh), Obama is entrenched in his sense of patriotism and has roundly...

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Intelligent, respected, revolutionary, and revered are just some of the superlatives used to describe the multitalented Karl Marx and Alexis DeTocqueville. These two European men both living during the time of the French Revolution, would go on to create works and research that would socially shake up the world. Both individuals held drastically different views about society as a whole, Democracy, socialism, the revolution, and whether or not society could be categorized. Even though they have varying opinions spanning many different topics one fact is un-debatable, that without the lifetime contributions of both Marx and DeTocqueville the Social Sciences as we know them, and the way society views itself would never be the same.
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...Questions to think about when reading Tocqueville:
- Tocqueville wrote in 1831 after he traveled to America to understand egalitarian society
- an aristocrat writing post-revolutionary France
- came from family that suffered during the French Revolution
- doesn’t see the Revolution as a positive thing, and doesn’t prize democracy
- is a realist (doesn’t think time can reverse)
- equality is inevitable and decline of aristocracy is inevitable as well
- by democracy, he means society where there is equality of status, old aristocratic society (etc. king, queen, commoner status) is removed
1. Why do master-servant relations differ in aristocracies and democracies? (relate to Chapter 5)
2. Why are two Englishmen abroad so distant from each other? (relate to Chapter 2)
3. Why are Americans difficult to offend at home in America but so easily offended abroad? (relate to Chapter 3)
4. Why are humanitarian sentiments more prevalent in democratic societies than aristocratic societies? (relate to Chapter 1 and 4)
Chapter 1: How Mores Become More Gentle as Social Conditions Become More Equal
In times of equality, people are more sensitive to the sufferings of others because they can imagine themselves in the same position.
* Equality of social conditions and greater gentleness of mores are correlative facts (i.e. did not happen by chance)
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